<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Destruction by Rawrbin</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24521218">Destruction</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rawrbin/pseuds/Rawrbin'>Rawrbin</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Batman - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Anxiety, Family Issues, Family Secrets, M/M, Panic Attacks, Past Relationship(s), Past Underage, Relationship Reveal, Secret Relationship, Stress, Tim Drake &amp; Damian Wayne Bonding, Vomiting, gone wrong</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 08:28:39</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Underage</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,135</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24521218</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rawrbin/pseuds/Rawrbin</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Bats had secrets. That was nothing new. Starting with Batman and Robin's secret identities, Tim Drake had prided himself on collecting all of them.<br/>Until the night he stumbled upon the secret he wished he hadn't.  </p><p>-----</p><p>Tim and Damian watch some old security footage on the Bat computer, and find out more than they bargained for about Bruce and Dick's past relationship.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Dick Grayson/Bruce Wayne</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>33</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>234</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I originally thought of this idea as a comedy, but then it turned into something angsty. Oops.<br/><strike>I may end up writing another installment of this in the future, but for now it's a oneshot.</strike><br/>This was originally a oneshot, but a lot of people seemed interested in seeing it continued, so now it has grown. Thanks for the comments and kudos everyone. &lt;3</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Bats had secrets. That was nothing new. Starting with Batman and Robin's secret identities, Tim Drake had prided himself on collecting all of them. </p>
<p>Until the night he stumbled upon the secret he wished he hadn't. </p>
<p>He and the demon brat were benched for the week (there had been a <em> minor </em> explosion which had left them with some not so minor injuries), so the one and only Dick Grayson had returned to Gotham to relive his glory days patrolling with Bruce in their absence. After several dull hours spent in the cave, Tim had come up with an idea to relieve their boredom and hopefully put off another spat with the tiny bat brat. </p>
<p>The cave computer had <em> years </em> of security footage archived. Why not witness just how glorious those glory days were first hand? If they happened to find any embarrassing footage to use as leverage against their older brother in the process, well, that was just a bonus. </p>
<p>First Tim had to hack through the computer's security. Oddly, the older he went with the footage, the higher the security clearance needed was. Tim wondered what was so worth protecting from decade old security cams, but chalked it up to Bruce's paranoia. It took longer than expected, but even the Batman's toughest security couldn't stop Red Robin's hacking skills. </p>
<p>Finally they were watching a video. Tim had picked a date at random once he'd gotten access to the footage. He idly wondered if they should make some popcorn as the clip started; this was sure to be entertaining. </p>
<p>Dick looked to be about the same age as Tim was now, if not slightly younger. He bounced excitedly out of the Batmobile. There was no audio on the old files, but Tim could guess that the young Robin was reliving a fight they had just come back from, based on the way he was jumping around and making fake punches and kicks in the air. Tim wondered if patrols had been shorter back then or if Dick used to have some kind of superhuman energy. If Tim came back from patrol with that much energy now, it would only because he messed up and got sent home early somehow. </p>
<p>"He looks… happy." Damian beside him said in a low voice. </p>
<p>Tim startled. He was so engrossed in the clip he had almost forgotten the other boy was there. </p>
<p>"Dick always looks happy," Tim replied, trying to understand the confused and almost pained look on Damian's face. </p>
<p>When the brat didn't reply he turned back to the screen. Suddenly he understood. Not Dick. Bruce. Batman was laughing at young Dick's antics. He even started to play fight back, pretending to fall back against the computer console in pain after Robin "kicked" him. It was very different from the serious and controlling Bruce they knew. Perhaps watching the old clips wasn't such a great idea afterall. Seeing the old Bruce fascinated Tim, but for Damian… Well, Tim couldn't be sure how the boy felt watching this. </p>
<p>"Maybe we should turn it off-" Tim started to say before suddenly Damian's gasp hit his ear at the same time that the offending scene on the screen met his eyes. </p>
<p>After pinning his "victim" against the console, Robin had leaned up on his tiptoes to kiss him. And Batman was kissing him back, gloved fingers gripping his hair to pull his head into a better angle. The kisses gave way to caresses, and when Batman was working the neck of a young Robin whose mouth was wide open in silent moans and his hand started to roam <em> lower, </em> Tim finally came to his senses and cut the feed.  </p>
<p>Tim's body was petrified, but his heart was racing a mile a minute. He stared at the black screen for a few moments trying to ground himself. He couldn't believe what they had just witnessed was real. </p>
<p>Slowly he turned to look at the current Robin. The boy was similarly staring into the abyss of black screen, no doubt the previous image still in his mind. His face was red, fists clenched, and he seemed to be struggling to control his emotions as he kept taking in quick, brief inhales through his nose. Tim couldn't tell whether he was angry, embarrassed, or about to break into tears. </p>
<p>Tim was still wrangling with his own emotions as well. The scant two minutes that had passed since he shut off the feed was not enough time to process something like that. How were you supposed to feel when you found out your mentor and <em> father </em>had been in a relationship with your older brother when he himself was still underage? Had it been anyone else touching his brother like that Tim's sure he would have felt nothing but fury. In fact, he'd probably be on his way out the door, injuries be damned, tracking down the bastard. </p>
<p>Right now, however, he's sitting somewhere between disbelief and confusion. Bruce was Batman - he protected people. He didn't take advantage of them. He put people who did things like this in jail. Tim had assisted him with taking down creeps doing this very thing on numerous occasions. </p>
<p>Plus there was his whole - whatever it was - with Selina to consider. He'd never shown any indication that he was interested in men, let alone underage men, or his own ward Dick Grayson. There had to be something else going on there, something they were missing. But what? Should he ask them about it? How exactly was he supposed to look Batman in the eye and ask if he had a thing for teenage boys? </p>
<p>"--- another one." Tim was pulled out of his mental ramblings by the defensive voice of his younger brother. </p>
<p>"What?" </p>
<p>"Are you both deaf and incompetent Drake? I said we need to watch more of that old footage." Damian's voice was shaking as he spoke. </p>
<p>"You want to see more of that?" Tim looked at his enraged brother full of confusion. It was uncomfortable enough seeing it once. He didn't really want to subject either of them to more of those clips. He was scared of what else they would find.  </p>
<p>Damian looked at him as if he were an idiot (though to be fair that was how he looked at him most of the time). Tim saw him using one of Bruce's breathing techniques to try and calm down before speaking again to explain himself. </p>
<p>"That clip was… " Damian made a scrunched up face as he searched for the right word, "peculiar. We need to see if that was an anomaly."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It was not an anomaly. Several more clips revealed short, sweet kisses, affectionate hugs that lingered too long to be fatherly, and a clip that was<em> definitely </em> not fatherly of Bruce massaging Dick's ass as the teen straddled his lap and ground up against him. Tim had shut that one off immediately. Neither of them needed to see where it continued to. </p>
<p>With each clip the ice cold sinking feeling in his stomach grew larger. He'd earlier thought that he'd be angry to see his brother being further taken advantage of, but that wasn't what he was feeling now. Tim couldn't name exactly what he was feeling, but it was much more akin to grief than anger. </p>
<p>After closing the last clip he sat staring at the black screen of the Bat-computer again, trying to process everything. </p>
<p>Beside him Damian was silent. Tim could barely process this himself, he couldn't imagine what was going on in his younger brother's mind at the moment.  </p>
<p>He wanted to say something, but he wasn't sure if it was to comfort him or to apologize. In the end he couldn't find the words either way. </p>
<p>After several more minutes of contemplative silence it became apparent that this was not something that they'd be able to work through easily. This was the kind of revelation that needed long discussions, and maybe some therapy sessions. This was the kind of revelation that tore families apart. </p>
<p>Tim was usually the one with the plan, but currently he was at a complete loss as to how to proceed. He needed to say something though, to break the horrible silence they found themselves stuck in. </p>
<p>"So... do we ask them about this?" He winced as the words left his mouth, realizing immediately that they were not the right thing to say at this moment. </p>
<p>Instead of replying, Damian just turned and stormed out of the cave without saying a word. Tim felt pressure welling up behind his eyes as he watched him go, leaving him alone in front of that damn screen. </p>
<p>Emotion finally washed over him all at once like a tidal wave, overwhelming him. Body shaking, he lowered his face into his hands, tears and sobs coming out uncontrollably. </p>
<p>He'd wanted a fun night of bonding with his little brother over some silly old videos. Instead, he's pretty sure he just revealed a secret that is going to destroy his family. </p>
<p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Seemed like some people were interested in seeing more of this, so I decided to extend it. There will be at least one additional chapter after this, possibly more, depending where the story takes me. I haven't quite decided what the end game will be yet.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Bats had secrets. That was nothing new. </p>
<p>But now Tim and Damian share a secret that they never wanted to. </p>
<p>His younger brother didn’t come down for breakfast. Tim isn’t surprised. He hadn’t wanted to come down either, but here he is. One son missing from breakfast could be written off as a child being moody. Both of them being absent would be suspicious. </p>
<p>And they have a secret to keep. </p>
<p>Tim reaches for the coffee pot and pours himself another cup, arm shaking slightly. He needs at least three cups to wake himself up on a good day, and he barely slept last night. He couldn’t, after what he’d seen. The pot runs out before filling even half of his mug. </p>
<p>“Are you alright Tim?” </p>
<p>Tim doesn’t mean to, but he jumps as the voice of the man he’s been purposefully tuning out startles him. A drop of coffee sloshes out of his mug and stains the white table cloth. He turns in Bruce’s direction but he doesn’t meet his eyes. If he does he’s sure Bruce will be able to see right through him. Though if Bruce is calling him out now he may have already given himself away anyways. He mentally runs through all the steps he took last night to cover their tracks: deleting all the history from the Batcomputer so there would be no evidence they had accessed the old security cam files, as well as that night’s security footage so there was no video evidence of them watching said files. Despite his precautions it’s possible Bruce still figured it out somehow. He always does.</p>
<p>Belatedly he realizes he’s supposed to be answering. </p>
<p>“I’m fine,” he says, but even to his own ears it’s unconvincing. </p>
<p>“Timmy that’s your sixth cup of coffee.”</p>
<p>Tim winces as the other detective at the table calls him out. Dick had spent the night at the manor after patrol last night, something that previously would have seemed perfectly normal to Tim but now has his mind racing with questions he’d rather not ask. Had Dick slept in his own room last night or… </p>
<p>Tim shoves the thought from his mind, can’t think about it. He tries to drown out the images he saw on the screen last night with the rest of the coffee in his mug. He wonders if he can make the next cup Irish. </p>
<p>“I’m just tired.” He replies when he realizes once again that he was expected to say something. He doesn’t meet Dick’s eyes either. He just can’t bear to. Not when he knows that he may have been a victim; knows that he himself had been surveilling Batman and Robin back then and had failed to notice anything was wrong. Failed to protect his brother. </p>
<p><em> If he even needed protecting. </em> The voice in the back of his mind speaks up uninvited. <em> He didn’t exactly look distressed in those videos, did he? </em></p>
<p>No, that was wrong. He was underage. Bruce had -</p>
<p>“What happened between you and Little D?” Damn Dick and his perceptiveness.</p>
<p>Though they seem to mistakenly think that he and Damian had gotten into an argument, his family definitely knows something is wrong. Of course they would. Tim’s chest constricts and he suddenly finds it very hard to breathe. He has never had a panic attack before, but he feels like this may be the start of one. </p>
<p>“N-nothing.” He manages to stammer out. </p>
<p>“Then why didn’t he come down to breakfast?” He risks a glance up and Dick is giving him an accusatory glare. Tim swallows and tries to will air into his lungs.    </p>
<p>“I don’t know. Maybe he just wanted to sleep in.” </p>
<p>“Damian never sleeps in,” Now Bruce is joining forces with Dick against him. He stares down at the coffee cup in his shaking hands as he feels both of their questioning gazes on him.  It’s just a simple breakfast table conversation but the pressure feels like it’s crushing Tim. He tries to inhale but he can’t get enough air. </p>
<p>“I don’t know, okay?” He squeaks out as he slams his mug down and gets up from the table. He needs to get out of there immediately. Avoiding their concerned gazes, he races out of the room. </p>
<p>He heads for the front door. His lungs need fresh air and space to <em> breathe. </em> However, when he enters the foyer he runs into Alfred and another stroke of bad luck. </p>
<p>“Master Timothy, I’ve just laid out your suit for today’s board meeting. You’ll find it in your bedroom.” </p>
<p>Tim’s heart constricts. He’d completely forgotten about the Wayne Enterprises board meeting today. The one that both he and Bruce have to attend, and that he is supposed to speak at. There's no way he'll be allowed to skip it, even if right now all he wants is to be as far away from Bruce as humanly possible.  </p>
<p>“Are you alright, Master Timothy?” Because Alfred is even more perceptive than the rest of them and there’s no way Tim doesn’t look a hot mess right now. </p>
<p>“Yes, I’m fine. Thank you Alfred,” he manages to get out somehow. It is probably not convincing, but he doesn’t stick around to find out. He heads straight for the toilet and vomits up five and half cups of coffee. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tim feigns sleep in the car the entire drive to Wayne Enterprises, sticking to his (albeit somewhat truthful) story of being tired, and convincing Alfred and Bruce that he just needs to get some rest before the meeting. Of course he doesn’t actually sleep a wink. How can he with Bruce sitting right there. Bruce who had… done something to Dick. Something Tim still does not want to think about. </p>
<p>If Tim has one trait he’s grateful for, it’s his ability to prepare. As seriously as he takes his job at Wayne Enterprises, his vigilante work comes first. This is not the first time he’s had to attend a meeting while severely lacking sleep or dealing with mild to severe injuries. As such, he has his speech written out word for word on his phone so that zero brain power is needed to do his job this morning. He may sound like an impersonal zombie, but at least the information gets delivered. The board members clap uncomfortably as he returns to his chair next to Bruce. </p>
<p>He practically jumps in his seat when he feels a hand settle on his knee. He quickly scans the other board members, but they’re all focused on the new presenter, not paying any attention to the zombie kid who’s too young to work here even though he’s the one in charge. Swallowing, heart filled with dread, he turns to face Bruce. His father-figure is giving him a concerned look. He gives Tim’s knee a squeeze. Tim knows it’s supposed to be comforting, supposed to say “I know something’s wrong and I’m here for you”, but all he can imagine is Bruce using that hand to grab at Dick in those videos. He feels bile rise in his throat and tries to keep it down. The hand stays on his knee for the rest of the meeting. </p>
<p>Tim has no desire to talk to anyone right now, let alone these stuffy board members, but as soon as the meeting ends he asks the prim woman on his right a question about profit margins in an effort to escape the conversation with Bruce that he’s sure would be coming otherwise. He waits until he sees Bruce inevitably get caught up in a conversation of his own before cutting the profit margin discussion off abruptly and high tailing it out of the conference room. </p>
<p>As soon as he shuts the door to his office he races for the trash can and begins dry heaving. He clutches the bucket to his chest and gags as his body shakes, but nothing comes out. Bruce had cut him off from coffee, and he definitely couldn’t stomach anything to eat, so he’s still empty from earlier. When his body finally realizes it has nothing left to send up, he curls up on the plush sofa Bruce had purchased for him. Sobs rack his body again as he wonders how he is supposed to continue facing the man everyday as if he had seen nothing. Eventually, his exhaustion finally catches up with him and merciful slumber takes him. </p>
<p>He dreams about the Batcave, and its secrets. </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Bats had secrets. That was nothing new. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tim whimpers in his sleep as he dreams of one of them. The one he hadn’t wanted to know. He can’t escape the images, even in his dreams. More like a nightmare. But worse than the dreams is his reality as he struggles to cope with the situation.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He feels fingers carding gently through his hair as he wakes, and has one moment of peace before the horror comes back. The gentle touch soothes him, reminds him of his mother taking care of him when he’d gotten a bad case of pneumonia as a child. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Only, he’s not a child anymore, and that’s definitely not his mother. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tim jerks away from the touch as his eyes fly open and he sees none other than Dick Grayson sitting on the couch next to him. His head had been pillowed on Dick’s lap, he realizes. Any peacefulness he had felt moments ago is completely gone now as panic takes over him again. He can feel his chest tighten and the room feels stifling. Dick is the person he least wants to see right now, aside from Bruce.  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What are you doing here?” he all but accuses as he scooches to the opposite end of the sofa and as far away from his older brother as possible. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I was worried about you,” Dick tells him, and Tim wants to laugh. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Dick</span>
  </em>
  <span> worried about </span>
  <em>
    <span>him? </span>
  </em>
  <span>It should be the opposite. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Bruce called me,” Dick continues, and Tim’s stomach drops, “He told me you were acting strange during the board meeting today. And don’t give me that ‘I’m just tired’ excuse because Damian is acting strange too. He’s still refusing to come out of his room. So why don’t you just tell me what happened so I can help you guys fix it?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tim looks down at his lap, cursing himself for being so obvious. He’s usually controlled, good at hiding his true intentions, but what he saw on that video footage has shaken him so hard that he doesn’t know what to do anymore. His body shakes as his mind races to come up with some explanation that will satisfy Dick, but it feels like his brain is broken. The only thing in his head are the images from the screen last night stuck on a horrifying loop. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fingers brush against his ribs then and Tim jerks away, shocked eyes looking up at Dick as Tim clamps his hand down over the bruise. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sorry. Are your injuries still bothering you? I know you and Dami don’t always get along, it’s gotta be tough for you to be cooped up together at home for so long. If you feel up for it I can talk to B, convince him to let you back out tonight. It’s been a while since just the two of you went on patrol, it might be a good chance for you guys to talk.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The words fly out of his mouth before Tim can control them. Dick may as well have poured a bucket of ice water over Tim’s head with the way his body runs cold at the mere idea of being alone with Bruce. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Tim, what’s going on? You can’t keep acting like everything is okay. Clearly something’s wrong. Did Bruce do something to make you mad?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>No no no. Tim’s been caught. His stomach twists violently even though it’s empty. He swallows hard to keep the bile down as he tries to think of something to say that could distract Dick from this line of questioning. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Tim, come on. You know you can talk to me about anything.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A comforting hand touches his shoulder, but it feels like it’s burning him. His eyes fly around the room, desperate for anything that could give him an excuse to interrupt the conversation, as panic washes over him again. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Tim…” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We saw you together!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Oh god. He hadn’t meant to say that, hadn’t meant to blurt out everything he had been desperately trying to hold in, but there it was. Verifiable word vomit in place of the actual vomit he was still trying to hold back. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What do you mean Tim?” Dick sounds confused and concerned. The hand on his shoulder tightens a bit. “Saw me with who?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You and Bruce,” Tim bites out. It’s too late now so he may as well get this over with and confess everything, “on old security footage from the cave. You were… were…” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He can’t quite bring himself to say it, but he knows Dick understands. The hand on his shoulder pulls back as if electrocuted, fist now coiled tightly in Dick’s lap.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Tim, I…” Dick looks like a fish, mouth gaping open before closing. He’s apparently just as at a loss for words as Tim. Guilt pools low in his stomach then as the silence takes over them. What if Dick hadn’t been willing after all? Perhaps Tim was dredging up some long repressed trauma for him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ever the responsible one, Dick finally breaks the silence. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Look Tim,” he says, pausing a moment to gather himself before continuing, “I don’t know how you came across that, but it was a long time ago, okay? You don’t have to worry about it.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How old were you?” Tim asks quietly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Tim, what? That’s not -”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How old were you?” he asks more forcefully this time. He already knows that the answer is ‘much too young’ but he needs to know, has some hope that maybe he is wrong-</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t know what you saw but… I was fourteen when we started. We-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tim’s stomach rolls.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m seventeen. Damian’s twelve.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dick’s eyes widen in shock, and his body jerks as if he’d just been punched. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Tim, no! No, no, it wasn’t like that. It’s not like that! Bruce isn’t… He won’t do anything to you, I promise! I was the one who pushed for our relationship, not him!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Somehow the words don’t bring much comfort to him. The admission that there had been a relationship between them, and when Dick was so young, only makes Tim feel worse. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you two still…?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No! No, we ended that a long time ago. When I quit being Robin,” Dick admits, voice teetering on the edge of nostalgic. “There’s really nothing going on anymore. You don’t need to worry about it, okay Tim?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay.” he replies, but he doesn’t think he’s ever been further away from okay. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They sit together in silence for a few more minutes, Tim trying to calm his racing mind and racing heart. A few times Dick opens his mouth as if he wants to say something, but then he shuts it again. Finally he speaks. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So, Damian knows about this too?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tim just nods. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’d better go talk to him then…” Dick says, rising off the sofa. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll see you at home later?” he asks Tim once he’s standing, body all awkward tension that Tim isn’t used to seeing on him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah,” he says, and he can see Dick’s body wilt in a bit of relief before he makes his way out of Tim’s office. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tim lays his head down in his hands and tries to fight back tears. His secret is out now, no longer a secret, yet somehow Tim doesn’t feel any better than he had before. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>